A/Prof Thava Palanisami
Environmental Plastics Innovation Cluster(EPIC), Global Innovative Centre for Advanced Nanomaterials (GICAN), University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
Correspondence: Thava Palanisami, Thava.palanisami@newcastle.edu.au
Exploring alternative sources to produce biodegradable polymers has become most important because of environmental concerns regarding conventional plastic materials. Algae has the potential to provide renewable sources of industrial materials through the production of novel biopolymers. Starch, cellulose, agar, carrageenan, alginate, and xylan are notable examples of polysaccharides, which are bio-derived polymers from seaweeds. Seaweed biopolymers are non-toxic, biodegradable, renewable, biocompatible, and eco-friendly, gaining much interest in academic and business sectors due to their similarity to traditional plastics. Seaweeds have many advantages over other biomass because they can grow quickly, easily, and cheaply without using pesticides and not requiring a large amount of space. Seaweeds can be blended with other species or biopolymers to improve their qualities and properties, such as thermal, physical, and mechanical. They can also be used as fillers in various biopolymer composites. Producing seaweed biopolymer through green production methods is preferable to traditional extraction methods due to the environmental and economic benefits. Therefore, using seaweeds as biopolymers is a promising way to replace conventional plastic that is both cost-effective and eco-friendly.